When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
One Last Ride for Ivan the Terra Bus: Ivan is the most famous bus in Antarctica. Bright orange, 14 meters long, and with wheels almost two meters in diameter, it has been trundling between airfields and research stations for 30 years.
As one driver put it: “Have you really been to Antarctica if you didn’t get picked up in Ivan?” After over three decades of service, and to the horror of many, the beloved bus has completed its last season on the ice.
Hard Winter Ascent on Cima Busazza: On March 7, Italian alpinists Emanuele Andreozzi and Stefano Falezza accomplished the first winter ascent of the Via Dell’Eva-Taddei route on the north face of Cima Busazza in Italy. The duo wanted to see if this forgotten summer climb, first established in 1969, would make a great mixed winter climb.
Stefano Falezza on Cima Busazza. Photo: Emanuele Andreozzi
Surviving on trash
The Gilligan Principle: Andy Dappen recounts an unconventional six-day trek along Vancouver Island’s West Coast Trail with his brother in 1999. The two brothers wanted to find out if they could complete it living off sea trash.
Setting off with tiny backpacks and minimal supplies, they relied on items that washed up along the coastline. They found a use for everything from discarded fishing gear and driftwood to abandoned chaise lounge cushions and old soda bottles.
Entry Fees on Mount Fuji: To combat overtourism, Japanese authorities are bringing in a $27 entry fee for the four main Mount Fuji climbing trails. Previously, only the Yoshida Trail in Yamanashi prefecture had a fee. The three trails in Shizuoka prefecture — Fujinomiya, Subashiri, and Gotemba — were free. Authorities hope the fees will deter huge crowds and improve safety.
Mount Fuji. Photo: Shutterstock
A 35km day hike
Not An Easy Day: The Cactus to Clouds Trail in Palm Springs, California, is one of America’s most challenging day hikes. Winding from the desert floor to the 3,300m summit of Mount San Jacinto Peak, the 35km route takes most hikers between 12 and 16 hours. On average, a hiker dies on the trail each year, and many more require rescue.
Q&A with Chris Bonington: In an interview with The Guardian, renowned mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington reflects on his climbing career and finding love later in life. He discusses leading the first successful ascent of Everest’s Southwest Face in 1975 and his summit in 1985, his most treasured possession, and his brushes with death.
Chris Bonington. Photo: The Guardian
An apt term for Robert Peary
Was Robert Peary a Pedophile?: Arctic explorer Robert Peary had troubling relationships with several teenaged Inuit women. Records detail his removal of 13- and 14-year-old girls from their families to take on expeditions and the pregnancies that followed. The word pedophile was not used in the early 1900s, but it seems apt when describing Peary.
My Cycling Buddies Bought E-Bikes, Now I Can’t Keep Up: Mark Sundeen addresses a mountain biker’s dilemma: his friends have switched to e-mountain bikes. After 20 years of biking together, the group is now using trails they shouldn’t, and the last man without an e-bike can’t keep up. Sundeen considers the ethics of riding e-bikes on restricted trails and whether this reader should confront his friends.
